Pearl Harbor

PEARL HARBORReview: This is set during the time of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. It follows two best friends, Rafe and Danny, and their love lives as they go off to fight. They get caught up in the events that draw the United States into World War II.
Director: Michael Bay
Actors: Ben Affleck, Kate Beckinsale, Josh Hartnett, Ewen Bremner, Alec Baldwin, Jennifer Garner, Jon Voight, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Michael Shannon
Year: 2001
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, History and RomanceConclusion: 2/5 The real life Pearl Harbor was a major event in US history and took place on the 7th December 1941. In early 2001 this was the most eagerly awaited blockbuster of the year. This film got made and released, with full support of the US Navy and who gave the film-makers access to their military hardware. A very long film running in at 3 hours and 3 mins. The actual attack in this is amazing but you have got to wait for the middle of the film for this to happen. The script could have been a bit better written. There wasn’t much in the way of direction given to the actors by Michael Bay. Ben Affleck’s grandfather refused to watch this film explaining that he wasn’t interested in reliving the war in any way, shape, or form. Apparently Ben Affleck originally turned down his role as Rafe McCawley. All of the climactic attack scenes were filmed and shot at the same Mexican studios used in the filming of Titanic (1997). Even though this got really bad reviews from film critics, it was a major box office success and just alone in its first opening weekend it earned $59 million and worldwide overall it took $450 million. In this film there is historical tragedy, an American hunk, a pop theme song and also a love story. What more would you like in a film?. At the Academy Awards in 2002 this won one Oscar and that was for Best Sound Editing. Film Critic Roger Ebert described this film as “A two-hour movie squeezed into three hours, about how, on Dec. 7, 1941, the Japanese staged a surprise attack on an American love triangle”.